One of the great questions of this Yankees offseason: Will Derek Jeter be penciled into his customary No. 2 spot in the lineup for 2014, or will Joe Girardi drop the veteran shortstop down the order? Photo: Getty Images

The Yankees lost their best hitter, but very probably improved their lineup. Robinson Cano exited, but the additions of Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran should bring length and diversification to the batting order.

It also offers up this bit of intrigue (controversy?) — cue the elephant walking into the room:

Where is Derek Jeter batting?

First things first: This only matters if he is healthy, and Joe Girardi said the information so far has been encouraging about Jeter’s rehab and workouts following multiple ankle problems last year. Second things second: If Jeter performs anything like he did in 2012, when he led the majors in hits, then he bats second behind Ellsbury.

But even Girardi acknowledged the need to wait and see what kind of player shows up in February considering Jeter is 39, hasn’t played much over the past year and is coming off a traumatic injury.

Girardi said he had been doodling with lineups a bit, but when I got him alone and asked specifically about Jeter’s place, the Yankees manager said, “I have thoughts on it, but I am not ready to share those thoughts.”

My translation: If Jeter were no doubt hitting second, Girardi would have said just that. He is keeping wiggle room.
Why potentially disrespect an organizational icon before you know his status? But the wiggle room also is there because the Yankees have to win in 2014 after missing the 2013 playoffs and Girardi knows he might have to make an uncomfortable decision to drop Jeter, something he resisted even as Jeter struggled for large swaths of 2010-11.

Since the beginning of the 1998 season, Jeter has hit first, second or third in every start, except one — July 10, 1999 — when he batted cleanup for the only time in his career. Moving him out of the top third might not be like relocating the Statue of Liberty to Kansas, but it will have seismic impact because of who Jeter is.

Remember the internal strife that was created within the Yankees when Girardi first made Jeter’s pal, Jorge Posada, a full-time DH and then dropped him to the bottom of the order. This would be more dramatic because Jeter is Jeter, an institution.

And a season after Girardi dealt with repercussions of batting Cano second — Cano did not like it one little bit — he may have to deal with not batting his most beloved player second.

The question is mainly this: Are the 2014 Yankees best served by having Ellsbury and Brett Gardner hit 1-2? Which essentially asks whether Gardner is clearly a better offensive player all around (hitting, on-base skills, speed) than Jeter is. It also asks whether Gardner will be a Yankee come April because — if the Yanks cannot buy Masahiro Tanaka — Gardner likely is their best chip to obtain the starter they so badly crave.

The lineup could be arranged to go Gardner, Jeter and Ellsbury hitting 1-2-3, but Girardi said he believes Ellsbury is most comfortable hitting first or second and didn’t want to disrupt that. He also indicated he prefers a lineup that goes lefty-righty-left, and batting Ellsbury and Gardner 1-2 would be lefty-lefty.

Probably what works best for Girardi is having Jeter being close to his best form and the lineup going Ellsbury, Jeter, Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Alfonso Soriano, Mark Teixeira, Kelly Johnson, Brian Roberts, Gardner — though you then have lefty-lefty with Gardner-Ellsbury at 9-1.

But Girardi certainly would rather deal with that issue then having to transition a struggling Jeter to the bottom of the lineup.

Yankees try to flip the switch

I asked Joe Girardi which switch-hitter had the most plate appearances for the Yankees in 2013. He repeated the question to buy time to ruminate, then responded Mark Teixeira. He was surprised to learn it was Zoilo Almonte (113 plate appearances). It marked just the second time since 1995 the Yankees didn’t have at least two switch-hitters reach 300 plate appearances. The other was 2008, when only Melky Cabrera exceeded 300.

What do 2008 and 2013 have in common? Those are the only two years since 1995 the Yankees failed to make the playoffs.

Now, was the lack of switch-hitters the only reason for that? Of course not. But one item the Yankees have been blessed with through this great era is high-end switch-hitters that bring diversity to the lineup and make it hard for opposing mangers to match up late with relievers: Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada, in particular, during the championship Joe Torre years, but also Chili Davis and Tim Raines. Girardi’s 2009 champs had Posada, Cabrera, Teixeira and Nick Swisher.

In introducing Carlos Beltran on Friday, both Girardi and Brian Cashman made special note of his value as a switch-hitter. And assuming a return to health for Teixeira and that Brian Roberts can stay healthy, the Yanks can return to having three full-time switch-hitters in the regular lineup.

“We were too left-handed last year and [because of injury, in particular] too easy to navigate through at times,” Girardi said. “I think the switch-hitters make it tougher for the opposing manager. You may have to use a few relievers to get through an inning and that could impact that game and also availability for the rest of a series.”

Beltran’s Mets legacy should be brighter

I realize there are Met fans who are never forgiving Carlos Beltran because his bat never left his shoulder against Adam Wainwright’s curve in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS or because of negative barbs that came out about his non-attendance at Walter Reed Hospital or his decision to have knee surgery or a belief that he was a bad clubhouse presence.

But the fact is that Beltran was a high-level performer for the Mets, one of the best in their history. Wainwright curve or not, Beltran was terrific in the clutch, one of the few Mets who did not melt down the stretch in 2007 and ’08. He was well-regarded within the clubhouse for being a good teammate and for a willingness to play through injury.

And as far as dealing with the media, he was accessible and helpful. Beltran said during his Yankees press conference that his idol growing up was Bernie Williams, who also hails from Puerto Rico. Like Williams, Beltran did not seek out media and was not controversial when he spoke. But, like Williams, he actually listened to the questions, eschewed cliché and gave long, thoughtful answers in one-on-one conversations. In his second language, by the way.

Who knows what his Yankees legacy will be. But his Mets legacy should be better.